Andi Dela Torre Griffiths
- Mar 26, 2023

Decluttering your Social Media

We live in an era where social media has become part of our lives. It has made sharing special moments and connecting with others easier. For some, it has also become an outlet for creative expression, if not a business tool. It has its advantages, but if used mindlessly, it can also harm the mind.

With this, decluttering your social accounts is a great way to keep your digital spaces healthier and free from unnecessary content. It can help you have some control over what you see and who you interact with. For today’s article, we’ll go through a few tips on how to do it for your Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Assess, sort, declutter | Social Media Decluttering

Facebook

The amount of decluttering you need to do might vary, depending on how you use Facebook. Do you keep an account solely for family and friends? For professional networking? Or for both?

If you maintain a personal account where you share photos and updates with people you know, cleaning up shouldn’t be much of a problem, as you would only have to go through your friends list and assess which ones you should keep or delete.

If your work entails being active on social media, being open to adding or accepting requests from potential clients, and joining groups, decluttering might not be necessary.

However, if you still want to, you can adjust your upload visibility settings or set some contacts as Acquaintances. If you do more page administration work, you can use a News Feed Eradicator and manage your clients’ pages using Business Suite.

FB Decluttering List:

Unfriend old friends and acquaintances you no longer interact with (or don't have a relationship with);
Leave groups that are no longer relevant to you;
Look through your photo albums and see if there are ones you'd like to delete;
Unfollow or unlike pages that produce content you are no longer interested in;
Delete uploads and remove tags that you no longer want on your page;
Hide suggested or sponsored content that isn’t useful to you;
Check your privacy settings and make changes if necessary.

It’s normal to feel uneasy when you’re unfriending (or unfollowing) people because Facebook has strategically used the term “friend” for online connections, which, in real life, we use for describing people with whom we share a close relationship. But don’t let this stop you from tidying up your account if you want to. It’s nothing personal. In a way, our online spaces (aka personal accounts) are like our houses in the virtual world. We have to look after it too.

Instagram

For Instagram, you can unfollow people or pages you are no longer interested in, delete old posts, or untag pictures. Again, it’s nothing personal; only a matter of protecting the peace of your online space. Real friends who know you on a personal level are different from colleagues and acquaintances. You shouldn't feel obliged to follow them if you don't want to.

IG Decluttering List:

Unfollow people you don't really interact with, or pages irrelevant to you;
Block or mute dummy or spammy followers;
Delete old photos (if you want);
Update your list of Close Friends;
Adjust settings for privacy, likes, and comments.

Social Media Decluttering | A Good Start

It's easy to get overwhelmed with user-generated information from social media nowadays, making you more susceptible to anxiety, depression, or burnout if not moderated. With this, it's important to practice mindfulness in the digital age.